Fuel-feed apparatus.



F. WEINBERG.

FUEL FEED APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED sEPT.24.1911.

1,292,183. Patented Jan.21,1919.

J 2 2 E. 65 d l Eoderick Welnlaems y' o d] o INVENTOR o 1. g3g ww f ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK WEINBERG, OF IDETROIT, MICHIGAN.

FUEL-FEED APPARATUS.

To aZZwwm t may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERrCK VEINBERG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in F ucl-Feed Apparatus, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will i enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to fuel feed apparatus for internal combustion engines and an object of my improvements is to provide an apparatus including a reservoir for the fuel which shall supply the fuel even when an opening is formed through the wall of the reservoir by being pierced by a bullet or otherwise, as for instance, the tank in an aeroplane being damaged by springing seams during a rough landing or a slight fall. Another object of my improvement is to render the fuel reservoir explosion-proof.

I attain these objects illustrated in the accompanying drawings, .in which:

Figure l isa side elevation partly' in section on the line A-A of an apparatus embodying my invention and so much of an internal combustion engine as is necessary to illustrate its connection therewith.

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view to an enlarged scale of the vacuum producing apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional tion of the wall of the supply voir a.

Figs. 4:, 5, 6 and 7 are modified forms of the suction producing apparatus.

Fig. 8 is a modified construction of the liquid fuel reservoir.

a is the tank or reservoir which holds the supply of liquid fuel. The tank a is preferably provided with three inclosed walls, a2 of steel, a3 of cork, and a4 of rubber 01 it may be of steel. Of course, a material having similar properties may be substituted for, those specified 'for the various walls of the tank. For instance instead of rubber. asphalt, felt, pulp, asbestos or similar elastic material may be used and it is desirable that such material be treated either with sodium silicate or carbon tetrachlorid and instead of steel any other metallic or non-metallic body that will not be acted on by the fuel view of a portank or reser- Specication of Letters Patent.

.ratus e e2 Patented Jan. 21, 1919.

Application filed September 24, 1917. Serial No. 192,913.

and its contaminations, for instance brass or bronze or aluminum may be used.

is the engine having an intake ,pipe or manifold b2 drawing its supply lthrough a carbureter b3 The tank a is located at a lower level than the carbureter b3. c is a centrifugal pump having a supply pipe c2 extending from its intake to the bottom of the tank a. c is va foot valve in the pipe c2. `The delivery of the pump c is through a pipe leading to the carbureter b3 and this carbureter is supposed to be supplied with the conventional constantly level apparatus whichl will prevent the flooding pf the engine by the constantly running pump c. The liquid supply pump is of the impelling type and has a-certain amount of slip. When the carbureter needle valve shuts oil' the supply the sllp of the inefficient pump will prevent the rising of the pressure'to any considerable extent. c is an extension of'the exhaust pipe or manifold b4. In the extension e is placed an interior tube e2 forming a Venturi contraction. The tube e2 is pierced by apertures e* near its narrowest portion. There is a wire gauze e3 interposed between the tubes c2 and e. cl is a suction pipe having its bore communicating with the interior of the exhaust pipe e between said pipe and the tube e2. By the above described apparatus a vacuum is continuously drawn-in the reservoir a when the engine is in operation and the amount of this vacuum is regulated by a conventional differential pressure valve indicated at (l2 and interposed in the pipe d. The differential pressure valve may be omitted if the source of suction is small and approximately constant as shown in tho modification 4ig. 7, which is also the case when the Venturi tube is solely operated by the draft created by the moving of the machine through tlfe air. This is, for instance, the preferable type of the suction producing `means as used on an aeroplane.

Instead of the vacuum producing appaa centrifugal fan or pump may be used, as shownl in Fig. 4, or the vacuum produced in the intake manifold may be used either directly, as shown in Fig. 6. or

through a Venturi attachment as shown in Fig. 5, or the draft from the airplane propeller may be projected through a Venturi tube g to produce the vacuum, as shown in Fig. T, which action may be replaced in part The operation of the aibove described de -vice is as follows:

The engine being set in motion the pump c supplies the fuel to the carbureter b3 in the usual way, at the same time a partial vacuum is draw-n and maintained in the reservoir a. Now if Ithe Wall of the tank a is pierced -by a bullet as indicated at w the cork a3 will partly close the aperture and the rubber cover a4 will even more approximately close said aperture. A 'Ilhevacuum in the tank a being greater than that represented by the head of liquid alcoveY the aperture a: no liquid will run out and the loss of fuel and danger of fire and leakage will therefore be avoided.

Should a flame be brought in contact with the aperture, suoli flame will be drawn in and extinguished inside of the fuel and quenched. It is advisable to treat the cork with sodium silicate to prevent deterioration thereof and to prevent it being set on fire by an incendiary bullet.

While a ltank having a single compartment may be used nevertheless if two holes are pierced in the same compartment at different levels the liquid therein would be liable to run out to the level of the lower hole. I have, therefore, divided the tank a into a number of compartments communicating with each other by restricted passages at their lowest points and connected each of said compartments independently by pipes d, (Z1, d3, (Z4, with. a sourceof vacuum as with the interior of the Venturi tube e2. Each of these compartments may be pierced y with a single hole without losing the liquid therefrom. The compartment plates act also as baffle plates and prevent the splashing of lthe fuel. In some cases to Ieffect correct balancing of the machine the different compartments may be placed in different parts of the machine, in which case they are interconnected b v means of pipes. A thin disk m2 of suitable material may be placed over the 'hole and will be retained there by suction, thus closing the opening. This will only be required in case of damage caused by an explosive bullet leaving a large hole in the wall.

The cork has the property of an intermediate cushion allowing the torn steel edges on the exit side of the bullet t0 become fully embedded in it and still presenting a pierced but substantially smooth surface toward the rubber. Instead of cork fabric may be used. The two walls` the.-fabric and the rubber being preferably cemented together. When a bullet enters the liquid containing tank the edges of the aperture made by it sometimes turn outward due, as I suppose, to the pressure caused by the energy of the bullet.- To mitigate the injurious effect of this action the inside wall should be made of material having little strength, and be much thinner than the thickness of the combined elastic matenial covering it so as not Ito penetrate these. This is important, also, for the disk or sheet cover :r2 will only stick and close the aperture when a substantially smooth surface is presented. In warfare for instance, a tracer, an explosive, and an incendiary bullet are fired in quick succession and in a fraction of a second and it is evident that either or any of them, or several of them, may strike the tank. lVhile the cover is sufficient for the ordinary steel and incendiary bullet it is of no avail against the attack of the explosive bullet. The latter will tear large holes into the-wall of the tank and the only way to secure a temporary safeguard is ble disk or sheet :vf which may either be done by hand or automatically.

What I claim is:

l. In a fuel feed apparatus, the combination of a carbureter, a tank located at a lower level than said carbureter and having normally air-tight Walls for containing the liquid fuel, means for withdrawing the fuel therefrom, and supplying it to said carbureter, and means for maintaining a partial vacuum in said tank. Y

2. In a fuel feed apparatus, the combination of a carbureter, a tank located at a lower level than said carbureter and having by applying a. flexinormally air-tight walls for containing the liquid fuel, means for .withdrawing the fuel therefrom and supplying it to said carbureter, and automatic means for maintaining a partial vacuum in said tank.

3. In a fuel feed apparatus, tion of a carbureter, a tank located at a lower level than said earbureter and having normally air-tight walls for containing the liquid fuel, means for withdrawing the fuel therefrom and supplying it to said carbureter, and automatic means operated by the engine for maintaining a partial vacuum in said tank.

` 4. In a fuel feed apparatus, the combination of a carbureter, a tank locatedl at a lower levelthan said carbureter and having normally airtight walls for containing the liquid fuel, means for withdrawing the fuel therefrom and supplying it to said carburetor, means for maintaining a partial vacuum in said tank, and means for adjusting the degree of said vacuum.

5. In a fuel feed apparatus` thecombination of a carbureter, a tank having normally air-tight walls for containing the liquid fuel, means for withdrawing the fuel thercfron'i, means for maintaining a partial vacuum in the combinasaid tank, and adjustable means for autosaid tank being divided into a number ofcommunicating compartments, each compartment communicating independently .with a source of vacuum.A

7. In a fuel feed apparatus, a supply tank having two walls spaced from each other, elastic material in the space between said walls, and means for maintaining a vacuum in said tank.

8. In a fuel feed apparatus, the combination of a main liquid supply tank, a carbureter, a conduit leading from said tank to said carbureter, and a pump in said conduit adapted to impel the liquid from the'. tank to the carbureter with a limited force and to allow the liquid to bypass the impelling pump blades when a certain pressure has been attained.

9. In a fuel feed system, the combination of a main liquid supply'tank, a carbureter, means for feeding said carbureter from said supply tank, and means for reducing the pressure in said supply tank consisting in part of a Venturi tube.

10. In a fuel feed system, the combination of a main liquid supply tank, a carbureter, a supplyconduit leading from said tank to said carbureter, means for reducing the pressure in said supply tank .consisting in part of a Venturi tube, said Venturi tube having an outer and an inner casing with a space therebetween, said conduit connecting with the space between said outer and inner casing and with said tank.

11. In a fuel feed apparatus, the combination of a fuel tank, means for maintaining a vacuum therein, said tank having a pe foration through its wall and a disk applied to said perforation and held there by atmospheric pressure.

12. In a fuel feed apparatus, the combination of a tank, means for maintaining a static vacuum in said tank, said means being adapted to produce a dynamic vacuum upon a perforation bein .made in said tank.

13. In a liquid fg el supply apparatus, the combination of a liquid supply tank having a wall consisting of solid and elastic materials, and means for maintaining a reduced pressure in said tank.

14. In a fuel feed apparatus, the combina.- tion of a supply tank, a carbureter, a conduit leading from said tank to said carbureter, a

float controlled valve adapted to control the passage of liquid through said conduit, and a centrifugal pump in said conduit adapted to impel the liquid from said tank to said carbureter through said conduit.

15. Ina fuel feed apparatus, the combination of a carbureter, a tank having normally air-tight walls for containing theV liquid fuel, means for withdrawing the fuel from said tank and supplying it to said carbureter, and a source of suction communicating with said tank above the fuel therein.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification.

FREDERICK WEINBERG. 

